Not so Prince Charming
by uber-cute-chibi
Summary: Once upon a time there lived two royal families. The son and daughter of the families were destined to be married but the royal wedding is put on hold when the son gets kidnapped


Once upon a time, in the land of Alternia, there were two kingdoms. The Ampora family ruled one, and the Peixes family ruled the other. Both kingdoms lived side by side, offering help to the other when needed. The Peixes family was considered to be powerful than the Ampora family though.

King Dualscar could part the seas and seemed to be able to summon thunder as he pleased, but Queen Condesce could cause mighty storms, wiping out millions with a single flick of her finger. She could make irons burn red hot by simply casting a glance at them.

Getting on King Dualscar's bad side could prove to be regretful, but Queen Condesce was not a force to be reckoned with.

Queen Condesce was a gorgeous queen. Many were jealous of her beauty. Her long flowing black hair and shimmering emerald eyes, both of which were passed down to her daughters, were the envy of the whole kingdom and neighbouring kingdoms alike.

The king gained his name because of the twin scars that run from the right side of his forehead to the left side of his chin. King Dualscar was known for travelling the seas and one day a pirate had the nerve to launch an attack on his ship. Needless to say they weren't heard from again.

In the opinion of his two sons, king Dualscar wasn't as terrifying as tales tell. With slicked back deep brown hair and ocean blue eyes he could prove to be intimidating, but as soon as his youngest son bat his bright blue eyes, Dualscar would bend over backwards to make him happy.

Eridan, the youngest son, had had an average childhood as far as he was concerned. He had lesions twice a week on how to be a future king, and throughout the week he had normal classes. Most of his time was spent with his mother. Eridan idolised his mother and loved her dearly. That isn't to say he didn't love his father, just that his mother held more of his affection.

Cronus, the oldest son, felt similar towards his mother as Eridan, but unlike his brother, felt a strong hatred towards their father.

Unlike Eridan, Cronus was next in line to be king as he was the oldest and first born, meaning he had to have lesions daily on how to rule a kingdom. The lesions were harder and Dualscar was stricter with Cronus. Because of this, Cronus came to hate his father.

While Eridan got to play in the garden picking flowers with their mother and learning white magic, Cronus was locked away in a dark room in the castle learning all he would need to know for his future. Things only got worse after their mother passed away.

It had been a peaceful passing, but the whole kingdom was shocked by her passing, none more so than the Ampora's themselves.

It rained constantly after the passing of the Queen, the king having fallen into a deep, dark depression having lost his wife, which affected the whole kingdom. His sons grew depressed too, but King Dualscar was blinded by his own deep depression to notice.

He acted coldly towards his sons, going so far as to ignore Eridan completely and yelling at Cronus whenever he did something or said something wrong.

The maids tried to offer Eridan comfort in any way, but he did not want their comfort. He sought out his father whenever the king was free, only to be brushed aside as if he did not exist.

Cronus noticed the way his father was treating his sibling but there was nothing he could do. All this time was taken up by these lesions the king forced upon him, any moment he could spare he would flee the castle. One day, he decided he was going to flee from the castle forever.

Cronus had aimed to leave the castle when no one would see him so he could leave in peace without anyone trying to convince him to stay and eventually become king. So when it was late at night and all the servants had retired for the night, Cronus packed his bags and snuck out of him room. The only person he hadn't counting on being awake was his little brother.

"Where are you going Cro?" A small quiet voice called. Cronus turned to see Eridan standing in his own doorway, staring at his brother with slightly confused eyes.

"I'm going away from a bit." Cronus told him quietly. There was no chance of anyone hearing them speaking but talking in hushed voices just seemed right.

"When will you be back?" Eridan asking as he stepped over towards his brother.

"I dunno chief. But I'll try and be back soon." Cronus ruffled Eridan's hair as he spoke even though he knew his sibling hated the gesture.

Eridan decided he was going to walk Cronus to the door. Neither said anything as they walked. The silence was comfortable but filled with unasked questions. Eridan wanted to know where Cronus was going and why. Was father sending him away or was Cronus going of his own free will, so many questions that would go unasked and unanswered.

Cronus stepped out into the cold of the night and smiled at Kankri, the courts speaker, who stood by the carriage they would take together.

"Well this is goodbye chief." Cronus said as he looked down at Eridan and smiled. He didn't want to just leave his brother. He honestly wished he could take him with him and Kankri, but he was also hoping that by leaving Eridan and running away the king would realise how poorly he had been treating his sons.

"When will you be back?" Eridan looked scared at the idea of Cronus leaving. He wasn't willing to admit it of course but he was scared of his brother leaving. What if he never came back?

"I'm not sure. But," Cronus knelt down before Eridan so they were eye to eye, "if you ever need me chief just shout and I'll come running."

"You promise?"

"I promise." Cronus ruffled his younger brothers hair again, messing up his blond hair further. Eridan pulled Cronus into a hug before he could leave. Cronus hugged him back and again promised he would come running should Eridan need him.

The two parted ways, Cronus leaving on the carriage with Kankri while Eridan snuck back inside to his bedroom. He prayed for Cronus to have a safe trip and that he return home soon.

To say King Dualscar was upset when he learnt of his son running away was an understatement. The king declared that Cronus was banished and if he ever returned civilians were to report it to guards so that they may imprison him and tortured. He didn't care if Cronus was his son. He had betrayed his family by abandoning his responsibilities.

King Dualscar marched up to Cronus' room, intending to burn anything that remained in the room. He heard a quite sound that stopped him in his mission. He could not place what it was at first but then he heard it again. It was a quite sniffle coming from Eridan's room. It was then that the king realised, he had forgotten about Eridan. He had been so caught up in his grief from losing his wife that he forgot about Eridan while focusing on Cronus.

Dualscar stepped over to the door and quietly opened it. Eridan lay on his bed, back facing the door and curled up into a ball. With Cronus gone Eridan felt lonelier than he ever had before.

"Eridan?" The small boy jumped slightly upon hearing his father's voice, "Are you okay?" Dualscar walking over to the bed, closing the door behind him, Eridan only looked up at him once he stood next to the bed. Tears streaked the small boys' cheeks, he eyes and cheeks puffy and red from the tears. Dualscar didn't even pause to think before he scooped his son into his arms, holding him close.

"I am so sorry." Dualscar said quietly. How could he have forgotten his son? How could he let his grief consume him so much that his sons became nothing to him? He realised now that it was him behaviour that had driven Cronus away. He couldn't let the same happen with Eridan.

"I'm sorry." He said again. "I promise things will be different now." Eridan buried his head in his father's chest, the words forcing more tears to spill from his eyes. Dualscar pulled his son closer and noticed he was clutching a plush to his chest. It was a white seahorse with hints of purple throughout. Eridan's mother had made it for him when he was very young and had trouble sleeping.

"I miss her dad." Eridan sobbed quietly. Dualscar felt his own eyes fill with tears. He could only imagine how lonely Eridan must have felt, losing his mother, then his father acting coldly and consuming all of his brothers time.

"I miss her too." He admitted softly.

"Why did she have to go?" Dualscar felt his heart break when his son's voice broke.

"Sometimes, no matter how much you love someone and no matter how hard you try and protect them, they just have to leave." Dualscar knew this, just as he knew and understood that death was a natural part of life. But knowing didn't make it any less painful.

He held Eridan close as he cried, let him, and encouraging him, to deal with the grief in a healthy manor. He didn't know whether Eridan had cried or not after his mother's passing. He didn't know anything about what Eridan had done after the passing of the queen actually. But he aimed to change that. He was not going to lose Eridan just as he had lost Cronus. He refused to allow such a thing to happen.


End file.
